The Scream of the Banshee
by GloomGangGirl
Summary: Misery is suddenly acting strange. The banshee part of her takes over, and she begins screaming. She sees the death of Moira, Doom's grandmother, who had come to visit Doom. How will the gang cope when she dies? I did research, but still don't know much about banshees. Sorry if some of it's wrong! PS: There are some Ruby X Skull Boy moments in this!
1. The Warning

It was a crisp, cool day outside, so the gang decided to have their fun inside. They weren't exactly having fun, however, as there was a slightly different atmosphere. They had a new visitor, a relative of Doom Kitty. It was Doom's grandmother, Moira. She was very old, the fir not completely black like it used to be. There were a few spots of gray. But her age really showed as she moved around the mansion. Her movements were slow enough that it made people nervous at times. She was shaky, easily tired, and almost showed pain as she put weight on her legs.

"It's hard to have fun when this cat is so sick," sighed Iris, rubbing cream on Moira's knees.

Poor Moira had arthritis, and she just didn't want to walk much because of it. But she loved Doom so much that she didn't want to leave the mansion.

"Yes. But I'm sure we can help her feel better," assured Ruby.

Just then, there came a blood curdling, almost monstrous scream from downstairs. Someone got hurt! Or so Ruby thought.

"Oh my! Moira, just sit back in your basket. I'll move you over to Doom, and we'll go see what happened," assured Ruby, patting the old cat fondly on the head before heading to the basement with the others.

As they neared the bottom of the stairs, they saw Misery pointing up as she screamed, at Doom! But why Doom?

"Misery. What's wrong?" queried Ruby, touching Misery's shoulder, but nothing happened.

She kept right on screaming, breathing like she was scared between the screams. No matter what they did, she wouldn't pay attention to them. She'd only back away as they neared her.

"Misery!" cried Ruby.

Misery just kept right on screaming, pointing up at Doom. What could it all mean? Misery was acting very strange to the gloom gang, and no one knew what to do.

"Hang on. I have this book called The Guide to the Gloom: Things You Should Know. Maybe it will tell us what's going on," suggested Skull Boy.

"Okay! Let's see!" exclaimed Ruby excitedly, everyone but Misery following, and heading up to the living room.

Skull Boy, on the other hand, headed into his room to search for the book. In no time, he found it, and ran back to the living room, ecstatic.

"Now. Let's see," he said, sitting down beside Ruby.

Sure enough, Skull Boy had come across chapter 4. Section 2 of the chapter, had the title, Banshees. He began to read, his speech slow as he tried to process the words.

"The banshee shows itself in times of distress, usually nearing the death of a family member. It warns the family by screaming or keening, a wail in the form of a droning chant."

Everyone gasped suddenly. They knew now what was happening and were scared. Especially Scaredy.

"B-But who is going to d-die!" cried Scaredy, shaking with fear.

"Well, Moira's been pretty sick lately, and Misery was pointing up at Doom. Doom is perfectly fine, so maybe she was pointing at Doom because she knows how close Moira is, and..."

Ruby stopped, and the whole gang gasped again, just as Doom scampered into the room.


	2. Keening Intervening

Poe, meanwhile, was working on a new poem, but heard the screaming and eventually gave up.

"I can't think over that racket!" he cried.

He flew to the garage, thinking it was Frank and Len making weird noises with the sound effects box Iris had gotten them for their birthday, but no. They were off with Ruby and the rest of the gang.

"Wow! That screaming is ominous!" yelled Frank over the noise as they walked into the living room to join them.

"Yeah! I'm ravenous too!" shouted Len, who hadn't quite heard Frank properly.

"No Len! The screaming! It's ominous!" said Frank, this time into Len's ear.

"Oh! Yeah! It is!" Len shouted.

"Doom. What's wrong?" queried Ruby, just as Poe flew in.

"What is going on!?" Poe inquired grumpily.

"Something's going on with Doom's grandmother!" answered Skull Boy.

"Well! In that case," began Poe, but then suddenly looked up.

"What's all the screaming about?"

"Misery. It's a banshee thing," admitted Iris.

Doom began miming, her movements rushed. Ruby could just barely make out what she was saying.

"Doom. Slow down. I don't understand," hushed Ruby, leaning down to her ear.

Doom did slow down, but she was still frantic. Ruby could make her out, though, and suddenly gasped.

"Guys! Moira's not eating, or drinking much. Most of what Doom tries to give her, she just won't take it. I wondered why she seemed thinner than usual," cried Ruby.

Ruby then ran out of the room and over to Moira, who was now showing definite signs of deterioration.

"Moira. Doom told me you haven't been eating or drinking much lately. Please. At least have some water," begged Ruby.

Moira's eyes grew sad. She didn't feel well enough to be able to drink. But as soon as Ruby put a dish of water in front of her, she slowly began to sip at it anyway.

"That a girl," smiled Ruby, patting her.

"So?" wondered Iris as she saw Ruby in the entrance.

"Well, I got her to drink a little water. But the way she is, I don't know if she'll be able to eat," said Ruby, slight worry in her voice.

"What if you play a game with her?" suggested Len.

"No, Len. Not like that. It's more like, remember that stomach bug that went around three months ago?" asked Ruby.

"Oh. Bummer," sighed Len.

Misery's screaming had calmed down, but now it was more like the keening that was mentioned in the book.

"Misery?" called Iris, heading down to see her friend.

Misery was still not responsive. She just continued the keening.

"Misery. I know this is upsetting for you, but you're upsetting us. Please. Calm down. Take a breath. Relax. I'm scared. And I'm never scared," she admitted.

Misery took several minutes, her whole body suddenly starting to shake as she headed for her room. She was now crying. A hiccuping cry. Finally, however, she let out one last groan before falling onto her bed of nails and sighed a long, misery-filled sigh. Before long, she was silent.

"There ya go," smiled Iris, just as the rest of the group came in.

"What did you do?" questioned a now perplexed Poe.

"Well, she was keening, so I thought maybe I'd be able to get her to relax a little bit since her screaming had calmed down. It took her a while because she'd suddenly started full on weeping, but she managed to calm down finally," explained Iris.

Misery suddenly coughed as a big lump formed in her throat from all the crying, but she sniffled, swallowed, and was soon silent again.

"Here," smiled Ruby warmly, giving her a tissue.

Misery groaned, sitting up, and blowing her nose loudly.

"Now. What's wrong?" questioned Skull Boy, his voice calm, soft, and almost soothing.

Ruby almost fell backward after the sudden form that came over him. It was the most romantic of the forms he had taken in a long time.

"It's..." she began, but sighed.

"What?" asked Frank.

"Doom. Her grandmother."

Misery tried to hold it in, but was unsuccessful, and suddenly wailed, "She's going to die!"

"Misery! Misery. Misery. She won't die if we take good enough care of her," insisted Ruby.

"You don't understand, Ruby. I'm psychic. I see it already. You can't stop it. It's already too late!" shouted Misery.

Everyone's eyes grew wide as she started a small bout of keening once more. But then, it turned into groans.

"You need some sleep, Misery. You're wearing yourself out," warned Skull Boy.

"Okay okay okay," moaned Misery, and after being given another tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose, she sighed, sinking back onto her bed of nails and falling into profound slumber.


	3. Depressed and Distressed

It had been two hours that Misery was screaming. From late morning to just after lunchtime. No one had even eaten lunch because of how concerned they were for their friend.  
"Could we eat now? I'm dreadfully starving," moaned Poe, holding his stomach with his wings.  
"Well, since Misery fell off to sleep, I don't see why not. No use just standing here," agreed Ruby, laughing.  
"Skull Boy? That was amazing how you handled that!" cried Iris, jumping up and down as they reached the top of the stairs.  
"Thanks! I must be related to a long line of doctors and nurses because of how calm I was!" he replied cheerfully.  
"Yes. You were so cute... uh... I mean... cool about it," managed Ruby, beginning to play with her fingers nervously.  
"Told you!" Frank whispered to Len.  
"I see it, now," Len whispered back.  
Ruby washed her hands, and began on lunch, wondering how to deal with Moira. Other than that little slip when replying to Skull Boy, she had Moira strongly on her mind, and she really wanted to help the poor thing. But as soon as she set lunch out on the table and called the gang to the kitchen as she went over to feed Moira, she was only shocked when Moira wouldn't take the food. Ruby frowned at this. She knew how precious Moira was to Doom, and just never believed it was time for her to die. At least not yet.  
"Of course she'll die. But she still seems a little too young. Her structure is still nice and strong looking," sighed Ruby as she headed back to the table.  
Moira was thin, but not enough to be concerning. It was noticeable, but not a huge deal. However, she was very tired and just barely had the energy to move.  
"Delicious as always! Thank you, Ruby!" exclaimed Poe, his beak still slightly full.  
"No problem," she replied, her voice a little monotone.  
"Are you okay?" queried Iris.  
"I'm really worried about Moira," admitted Ruby.  
"We all are. I'm worried about Misery too," answered Frank.  
Just as they finished their lunch, a loud thunder clap echoed through the house.  
"Misery's awake," said Skull Boy.  
Everyone went silent, not daring to take their eyes off the disheveled hair of the stressed out banshee. She was still so tired from all the screaming, but was hungry too.  
"Here, Misery. Have some lunch," Ruby offered, gesturing for her to sit down, and pushed a plate of food over to her spot.  
"Thanks," she said hoarsely.  
Tears were streaming like a fire hose down her face. She was just so stressed and sad. She loved Doom. Doom always joked around with her, pretending to tackle her and pounce on her, and it would make her laugh. A legitimate, heart-felt laugh. But now that Doom was losing someone so precious to her, all she felt was pity and fear. What if Doom never recovered? Despite it, though, the human part of her decided to give in and eat the food.  
"Something wrong, Misery?" queried Skull Boy.  
"Everything," she croaked.  
"I'm sorry. Would you like me to give you anything else?" wondered Skull Boy.  
"No thanks," she croaked, just as a lightning bolt hit her in the head.  
Her skin was now charred from the heat, but she didn't even say the usual "Ow." She just sighed, and took a few more bites of her lunch, before lightning hit the plate and burned that too.  
"Maybe I should just go," she sighed, getting up from the table and heading off to the stairs again.  
"Do you at least want some water?" called Iris.  
"No, thanks," she croaked, her voice showing evidence of her returning need to cry.


	4. Calm Before the Storm

Misery lay herself on her bed of nails again, silent. She was just so scared. She wasn't sure what to feel, or what to think. The thought of Doom falling into depression made her eyes well up. Though she almost always had tears running down her face, the amount was especially high today. The worst part, was that it was not over yet.

"I just want to scream. But my throat is killing me," she croaked to herself.

She let her emotions loose after a while, and began to shake with sobs. She folded her arms and lay her head down on them. She stayed like that, crying until she could take no more. She just decided she'd drift off to sleep, and stay asleep. She slept and slept.

"Misery? Moira's starting to feel better. I gave her some medicine," said Ruby, shaking her before she spoke.

But Misery did not stir. She didn't moan. She didn't even open her eyes. She was stuck in sleep. She was in _deep_ sleep now.

"Well at least we don't have to hear the screaming anymore," sighed Ruby as she reached the top of the stairs.

Misery slept the whole day away. She didn't wake up until the sun arose. It was a new day. A day that would possibly never be forgotten: the day of Moira's death.

Though Moira did seem like she was getting better the previous day, this particular day held no promises. Sure enough, she was back to that old, tired cat she had been before. But this time, it was different. She was too weak to move her legs. She was too weak to move her head. She was still. She meowed a troubled-sounding, almost fearful meow.

"Oh. My poor little Moira," sighed Ruby, frowning.

Everyone was happy that Misery hadn't screamed again since the previous day, but their hopes of not hearing it again were crushed when they heard another episode start up. This time, it was troubled. Almost filled with desperation.


	5. Let It Heal

"Misery!" cried Iris, a tear running down her face.

"This fit of screams is different. She's not really sounding as hurt this time, but more... well... desperate. Should we go see her?" wondered Ruby.

"She won't talk to us," Iris reminded her.

"Oh m-m-m-m-my, oh d-d-d-d-dear," stuttered Scaredy.

Doom suddenly ran up to Ruby, gesturing for her to come with her. Moira's eyes were closed once Ruby saw her!

"Guys! Moira's..."

Ruby didn't even need to finish her sentence. The gang rushed over at once, and realized right then, right there, Moira had slipped away.

Misery suddenly darted up the stairs, a rush of panic soon charging through her veins. She looked over Doom and Moira, and began a lament.

"Ooooooooooooh!" was all she said, in a slow, troubled, distraught-sounding tone. She had started the keening all over again.

It was almost a wail mixed with crying. Ruby never heard a cry like this before. Only Iris had witnessed this first hand. The banshee moved slowly around Moira's basket, wailing as loud as her lungs and vocal cords would let her. Eventually, though, the keening turned into groans again.

"Misery. I'm so sorry you had to witness this. We're all sad for Doom, though. Things will get better. It will take a while, but I'm sure it will get better," assured Ruby.

Misery just continued as best she could, but this time more of a steady "Oh oh oh." Tears were streaming down her face and onto the floor. The poor thing was so desperate and hurt. She didn't want it to happen. At least not at that moment.

"Sit down. Please. Right here. As a matter of fact, stretch out. Lay back. Make yourself comfortable. I need to help Doom," suggested Ruby, guiding Misery, still in her banshee trance, over to the couch.

Misery did stretch out, but the keening still continued. It had lowered, but it was still very desperate-sounding. She didn't stop until Frank and Len came in with an acoustic guitar.

"One, two, three, four," whispered Frank, and they began.

Is your ship sinking?

Did you know that's arsenic you're drinking?

Are you buried in icecaps? Did that bridge you're on collapse?

Did that place you're in explode?

Oh that's why we're singin' this ode.

They sang the chorus several times, and just as they finished, Misery had fallen fast asleep, snoring comfortably.

"Great job, you guys," smiled Iris, high-fiving the boys softly, and headed over to Ruby and Doom.

The rest of the gang was there too, Ruby holding Doom as she meowed with sadness.

"Oh Doom. I know. I know what it feels like. My great grandmother died a few years back. You remember that, don't you? It was very tragic. She had just gotten so sick. I know what it feels like to lose someone precious," explained Ruby.

Iris patted Doom, kissing her on the head. That was when Frank and Len came over to Doom and Ruby.

"This is based off an old song Dad used to play," smiled Frank, remembering the time he and his dad would listen to music together.

Hey Doom, we know you're sad.

But we hope, soon, you will feel better.

Please know that, we'll always be your friends.

Until the end, and help you feel better.

Let it out, let's hear you cry, just cry, don't try.

To hide, the sadness, that you're feeling.

Let it out, let's see you cry, just cry, just cry.

It is, the way, your body's healing.

Nah nah nah, nah, nah nah nah, nah!

They just kept singing, and soon, the whole gang was joining in the fun. Ruby especially loved it. Despite the sad lyrics, everyone began singing the big finish.

Nah, nah, nah, nah nah nah, nah!

Nah nah nah, nah! Hey Doom!

Doom was crying. She was touched by the song, and took its advice to heart. Every piece of it. She didn't try and hide it, she just cried. It was the most amazing thing Frank and Len had ever done for her. She loved their creativity, and this time, they had really done it with the creativity. As soon as the song had finished, Ruby was all wet from Doom's tears.

"Oh Doom. Here. Why don't I put you in your basket. Let yourself heal. Rest up here. I'm sure that there's not quite a bright side to all of this for you yet, but if you look on the just barely enough light side, I bet that now, Moira's in heaven, happily running and playing free, and watching over you," assured Ruby, putting her in her basket, and stroking Doom as she talked.

Ruby left Doom alone for a while, and began making supper. She just couldn't wait to give everyone the food. She was making everyone's favourite! A corn chowder with a side of homemade rolls.

"I doubt that anyone would be too hungry, because of today, so I hope this will be enough," sighed Ruby, setting the pot of chowder and plate of rolls in the center of the table.

She called everyone for dinner, and Poe was the first to fly in. But not long after, the rest of the gang showed themselves. But Misery was still on the couch.

"Misery?" called Ruby, coming into the living room.

Misery didn't move an inch.

"Misery?" called Ruby a little louder, shaking her slightly.

"Mmmm," she groaned.

"Misery? Dinner," called Ruby, shaking her again.

Misery slowly, but surely, opened her eyes. She stared at Ruby, confused.

"Ruby? How come I'm here on the couch?"

Her voice was low, croaky, and still tired-sounding.

"I put you there when your keening started to turn into groans," she explained.

"Oh. Um... right," she said finally.

Doom got up from her basket suddenly, sitting over by her food and water bowls. Misery was surprised at this.

"I didn't think she'd even want to eat after... you know...," said Misery.

"She's fine, Misery. She'd never do anything like that I'm sure," laughed Ruby.

"Plus, we sang a song that really seemed to help her feel better about herself," chimed in Iris.

"Really?" questioned Misery.

"Yes. It was about coping with a death. Crying and being sad is how you heal. I think hearing that made her feel like she could get through life easier, just knowing that key fact," answered Skull Boy.

Ruby filled Doom's bowls, and they all ate supper contentedly. Although Doom did have a few moments of unhappiness throughout the next few months, she still remained, and to this day remains, the same old Doom Kitty she always was.


End file.
